The enforceability of a wrap agreement (browsewrap, clickwrap and shrinkwrap) can often turn on what to the untrained eye may be mere minutiae. Such minutiae can include the nuances of the design of a website. For example, in...more

In recent years, studies have shown an increase in product liability lawsuits, and given the widespread sales of the products, many of these cases are being consolidated into multi-district litigations (MDLs). Many state...more

If you own a business the reality is that one day you will likely face a lawsuit. That may mean a lawsuit you have to bring to enforce an agreement or protect your company, or one you have to defend against a disgruntled...more

Can a company require that you give up your right to sue the company if you download a coupon from the company’s website? What if you “like” one of the company’s products on Facebook? Over the last month, General Mills...more

The hostility of some California courts to arbitration—and their resistance to preemption under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)—has produced nearly three decades of U.S. Supreme Court reversals. The most recent is AT&T...more

Mandatory arbitration clauses have proven to be very powerful weapons employed by businesses to avoid the duration, expense, and often times negative publicity associated with protracted litigation in both federal and state...more

In This Issue:
- Is the Ascertainability “Requirement” Plaintiffs’ New Foe?
- Whirlpool and Butler: Liability-Only Classes in a Post-Comcast World
- Recent Cases of Note
- Excerpt from Is the Ascertainability...more

Recently, I co-presented a CLE webinar on "Technology for Better Mediation" along with two San Francisco trial attorneys, Miles Cooper of Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn, and Jeff Smith of Abramson Smith Waldsmith. This post...more

UPDATED THROUGH SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
Product Liability – Tobacco. In an action by individual class member, did the trial court err in application of finding reached by jury and affirmed by Florida Supreme Court in class...more

On Monday, the California Supreme Court issued a thoughtful opinion that finally provides strong guidance on the use of animations in trial, affirming their proper place in supporting expert testimony. The decision People v....more

Most people don’t find data beautiful, but it really can be. I am definitely not talking about endless pages of numbers, but rather about data that is visualized in an appealing manner, which actually can be an exciting and...more

At the American Society of Trial Consultants annual conference in New Orleans last week, I had the opportunity to be on a panel discussion about social media and blogging for the legal profession. There, I saw one of the...more

More often than not, litigating a case boils down to persuasively explaining your theory of what happened. The best way often is to create a 3D animation. Nothing is more powerful to enhance the visualization and...more

Generally speaking, there are two ways to prevail at trial: (1) have better evidence and demonstratives than your opponent, and (2) keep your opponent’s evidence out. This article describes a couple of Cogent Legal's recent...more

Having myself been a partner at a small five-attorney plaintiff firm for years, I certainly know the feeling of going against the big firms on cases that can attempt to overwhelm you with discovery, but that often have more...more

This post spotlights three informational graphics that Cogent Legal created and describes how we wrestled with a mountain of data to present a large amount of information in a way that is instantaneously understandable and...more

Many trial or ADR PowerPoint presentations could benefit from recapturing the craft of the “Show & Tell.” Too often, what we should be “telling” we put on the screen. And sometimes, what we should be “showing” we ignore all...more

The role of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in alleged consumer product defect cases continues to be a hotly disputed issue. Plaintiff lawyers prefer the class action device, with its ability to pressure blackmail...more

I always want to support attorneys using demonstrative evidence and trying new things in terms of design and tech. Demonstrative evidence is pretty much any evidence other than testimony that is presented during the course of...more

Unlike a case of a broken bone that might easily be seen on an X-ray, traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases are often much more difficult to diagnose and ultimately present to a jury. Having worked on many of these types of...more

Unlike a case of a broken bone that might easily be seen on an X-ray, traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases are often much more difficult to diagnose and ultimately present to a jury. Having worked on many of these types of...more

This post will provide a few key tips on how to transform economic data into engaging, easy-to-understand visual presentations. One of the most difficult parts of presenting any case involves economics, especially when it...more

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